Endangered Vulture Conservation within the Southern Drakensberg
Wildlife ACT is happy to share extra about our Southern Drakensberg Conservation Mission, which focuses on endangered vulture conservation on this lovely area of KwaZulu-Natal. The Mission, which falls beneath the our Vulture Conservation Programme, calls on volunteers from around the globe to help in day by day on-the-ground conservation efforts being made within the Southern Drakensberg area.
Regardless of being important to our ecosystems, vulture numbers are in severe decline, with solely 50 to 100 breeding pairs of Bearded Vulture in South Africa and Lesotho and about 4,500 breeding pairs of Cape Vulture left in South Africa. Now welcoming volunteers, the Mission goals to additional native conservation efforts for endangered and precedence wildlife species, significantly the weak Cape Vulture and the regionally critically endangered Bearded Vulture.
Made doable by a collaboration between Wildlife ACT, the Drakensberg Conservation Initiative and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, this challenge kinds a part of Wildlife ACT’s ongoing efforts to watch and shield endangered and precedence species and to help in efficient administration of protected areas. The endangered vulture conservation facet includes the monitoring of nesting websites, managing and sustaining secure vulture feeding websites, conducting a long-term distant digicam trapping survey within the space, responding to emergency occasions, and extra.
“We’re excited in regards to the Southern Drakensberg Conservation Mission and look ahead to focusing some vital vitality on the regionally critically endangered Bearded Vulture,” says Chris Kelly, co-founder of Wildlife ACT. “Vultures play a important position in sustaining wholesome ecosystems, and their decline is a severe concern. We hope to make a constructive influence on the conservation of those magnificent birds throughout the Southern Drakensberg area.”
Highlighting Vulture Conservation
The Southern Drakensberg Conservation Mission is primarily devoted to conserving vultures and defending the 2 cliff-nesting species of vulture discovered within the area – the Cape Vulture and Bearded Vulture – that are prone to extinction.
The Bearded Vulture is of specific concern to the challenge as a result of its regionally critically endangered standing on the IUCN Purple Record and a low inhabitants estimate of fifty to 100 breeding pairs in South Africa and Lesotho. Over the previous century, this species has skilled a big lower in numbers, leading to a geographically remoted inhabitants confined to the Maloti-Drakensberg mountain vary.
Vultures are subjected to a number of risks, together with poisoning, electrocution, collisions with vitality infrastructure, habitat loss, and meals shortages. Not solely are these birds important elements of the ecosystem, however in addition they possess a digestive system that comprises particular acids able to dealing with quite a few ailments which are doubtlessly hazardous to human beings, making their safety critically essential for stopping the unfold of illness.
“Vultures present important ecosystem companies in our pure, agricultural, and rural environments,” explains Wildlife ACT’s Vulture Conservation Programme Supervisor, Anel Olivier. “The essential position they play within the biking of vitamins by the highly-efficient disposal of natural waste from the setting is of utmost significance to human well being and environmental integrity. They’re tailored to effectively eliminate rotting flesh and bone, in addition to different natural waste, thereby decreasing the unfold of illness amongst wildlife and livestock, in addition to abating the chance of pathogen spill-over to people.”
Vulture Conservation within the Maloti-Drakensberg Park World Heritage Web site
The Southern Drakensberg Conservation Mission takes place each in and across the Maloti-Drakensberg Park World Heritage Web site in South Africa, an important stronghold for a number of threatened and endangered species. The Heritage Web site is an unlimited protected space spanning over 240,000 hectares and stretching alongside the border of South Africa and Lesotho. This protected space is dwelling to an unimaginable range of crops and animals, together with over 2,000 species of crops and quite a lot of uncommon and endangered animal species, together with the Cape and Bearded Vulture. It is a vital website for endangered vulture conservation.
“One of many nice issues about this Mission is that it demonstrates the significance of conducting conservation work outdoors of protected areas in addition to inside them. We’re lucky to have plenty of native landowners supporting conservation efforts by providing our crew entry to their properties with a view to monitor nests and conduct surveys. With out their help, we’d danger lacking out on important data,” says Phillip Swart, Precedence Species Monitor, Southern Drakensberg.
Be part of Wildlife ACT in Endangered Vulture Conservation
By means of Wildlife ACT’s Volunteer Mannequin, conservation lovers from around the globe and all walks of life, are in a position to help with important on-the-ground conservation work in addition to important Mission funding. Volunteers are invited to this new Mission to expertise one thing utterly totally different. From climbing the World Heritage Web site and viewing distinctive birdlife to being a part of revolutionary feeding websites and witnessing the extremely uncommon Bearded Vulture in flight; every part about this Mission provides a memorable expertise.
Throughout their time on the Mission, volunteers dwell in a farmhouse located within the buffer-zone surrounding the Maloti-Drakensberg Park World Heritage Web site, surrounded by breathtaking surroundings. Volunteers can count on to dwell like an area and revel in being immersed into the farming group of Underberg. Days finish off with a beer on the deck watching the solar fall behind the mountain-scapes as you pressure to listen to the nightlife come alive.
We look ahead to welcoming you to the Southern Drakensberg Conservation Mission and know that you’ll fall in love with it, simply as we’ve got. Click on right here to use and help endangered vulture conservation.